A. Field of the Invention
This relates to security measures with regard to containers and detecting container breaches via visual cues while a container is moving. Containers are frequently used to transport large amounts of goods across great distances and it is important to determine if unauthorized access to the container has occurred.
B. Prior Art
There are other prior art references to container breach systems and a great many prior art references teach a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, some of which are passive and some of which are active. This type of tag is placed on the container doors and will either signal when a breach has occurred (passive) or will allow constant monitoring of the condition of the container (active).
Representative examples of the prior art that teach types of tracking methods using RFID tags include Nowak, U.S. Pat. No. 7,123,149 and Hornbacker, U.S. Pat. No. 7,047,103. A system that teaches the tracking of goods through a variety of tracking stations can be found at Clift, U.S. Pat. No. 7,126,470.
There are other systems in the prior art that teach article tracking methods and systems including real time tracking of goods and examples of this type of device and method can be found at Chung, U.S. Pat. No. 7,036,729 and Li, U.S. Pat. No. 7,136,832. Both the Chung and Li patents use RFID technology.
The major drawback in those applications that employ RFID tags is the cost of the RFID tag. Consequently, this application is not an application for a RFID tag or a related system using an RFID tag but rather a method to track the security of containers by using visual cues. This is done not by RFID technology but by placing a strip of material across the back of the container once it has been sealed and monitoring the condition of the strip of material as it travels over great distances.
If the container doors are opened and the strip is ripped; it is made from material that will be very difficult and close to impossible to piece together. This device can be used on any type of container is significantly less costly than any methods that employ RFID tags.